Sunah Chang is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary: Bloomberg publishes an investigation into workplace sexual harassment at SpaceX, Paris airport workers announce a strike ahead of the Olympics, and Korean autoworkers reach a tentative agreement with Hyundai.
Yesterday, Bloomberg Businessweek published an investigative report examining sexual harassment allegations against SpaceX. Two years ago, SpaceX terminated eight workers after they spoke out against the company’s hyper-masculine culture. According to these workers, it was commonplace for male workers at SpaceX to subject women to inappropriate jokes mimicking Musk’s tweets, openly stare at women’s bodies, and disparage their capability of being engineers. When the workers came together to pen an open letter to management expressing concerns about the company’s culture, SpaceX fired them.
In January of this year, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against SpaceX, which alleged that the company’s decision to fire the eight employees was unlawful. However, the NLRB’s case has been indefinitely postponed pending SpaceX’s separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB. Facing this legal purgatory, the employees have proceeded to file another lawsuit in California state court, which accuses SpaceX and Elon Musk of sexual harassment and whistleblower retaliation.
Over in Paris, multiple unions representing workers at Aeroports de Paris have announced their plans to launch a strike on July 17—just nine days before the 2024 Olympics. The CGT, CFDT, FO, and UNSA unions have called the strike in order to demand that all staff receive a bonus for working through the Olympics. An airport workers’ strike would pose a major disruption to increased travel and tourism; thousands of athletes will begin arriving in on July 18, followed by hundreds of thousands of tourists who will flock into Paris on a daily basis throughout the Olympics season.
Meanwhile, in Korea, autoworkers have reached a tentative agreement with Hyundai, narrowly averting a strike planned for later this week. After rounds of negotiations over the course of 46 days, the union and Hyundai announced a new contract, which will increase workers’ monthly salary by $80.46 and boost bonus incentives and company stocks. The union’s 43,000 members will vote on whether to ratify the tentative deal this Friday.
Daily News & Commentary
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September 15
Documents reveal the inner workings of Amazon's union avoidance program; Washington state public sector unions reach tentative deals amid a difficult bargaining cycle; hundreds of Nevada Culinary Union members protest their union's health care changes.
September 14
NCAA and Big Ten file motion to dismiss in former star player's NIL suit; Seventh Circuit rules against former postal worker in discrimination suit.
September 13
Documents released on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks show that city officials encouraged workers to return to Ground Zero despite knowing the risks of asbestos exposure, and new polls demonstrate continued widespread support for labor unions.
September 10
Amazon workers allege pregnancy discrimination; federal unions challenge USDA reorganization; NYC warns of silicosis risks.
September 9
Wynn Las Vegas employees allege anti-union retaliation; Amazon faces a class action over pregnancy accommodations; H-1B demand plunges following a six-figure visa fee.
September 8
In today’s News and Commentary, workers and unions across America celebrate Labor Day, California’s SEIU Local 1000 prepares for a strike authorization vote, and New York City creates the Office of Worker Power. On Monday, labor unions and workers gathered in cities across the United States in celebration of Labor Day. Parades and rallies took […]